Oaxaca – la Ciudad de la Policía Federal, author – malyfred, 2007-01-31

Grinding poverty, corruption, and electoral fraud have turned Mexico into a cauldron of social unrest. Nowhere has this been more acute than in the state of Oaxaca. A botched attempt to crush a massive teachers’ strike last June led to open rebellion against the state government.

After over five months of open insurrection, the federal government finally sent in the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) on October 29 to quell the revolt. They used as pretext the death of an American IndyMedia reporter Brad Will and two other protesters who were killed by police thugs. (more …)

A MAFIA victim was forced to watch his wife and teenage son having their throats cut and then being shot before he was also killed the same way.

The 56-year-old businessman and his family were executed by hitmen after he cheated Godfathers in a deal over prostitutes for nightclubs.

The bloody massacre was carried out in the cellar of their home in Brescia, Italy, after neighbours saw three well-dressed men entering the house with attache cases.

Police say the man had been dealing with a Mafia family in the southern city of Reggio Calabria.

The massacre has left Italy shocked, especially because two victims were a woman and child -traditionally left out of bloody Mafia vendettas.

3 September 2006 Nick Pisa In Rome

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[thumb:1688:l] FRANK SINATRA biographers ANTHONY SUMMERS and ROBBYN SWAN have unearthed new evidence linking the late crooner to the Mafia, thanks to the confession of a dying mob boss.

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BLACK AND WHITE 8 X 10 MUG SHOT OF FRANK SINATRA 1938 – Mug shots from Sinatra’s 1938 arrest in Bergen County, New Jersey, on seduction charges — which were later dropped. A woman who said she was single and of good repute complained that Sinatra had sex with her twice on a promise of marriage but reneged. When police learned the woman was married, they changed the charge against Sinatra to adultery, but later dropped the case.

The husband-and-wife team published SINATRA: THE LIFE last summer (05) and have since learned that claims they made in the tome about Ol’ Blue Eyes’ ties to organised crime were accurate. In the hardback, the couple maintained the singing legend owed his career to the Mob, as Dons like American Mafia founder LUCKY LUCIANO, whose family lived on the same street in small town Sicily as the Sinatras, gave him his first big break on the stages of the clubs run by the criminal masterminds.

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Lucky Luciano, New York Police Department 18.April 1936

Summers and Swan’s research also led them to believe that the Mafia continued to support Sinatra throughout his life – helping him reclaim his career when his popularity was waning in the late 1950s and 1960s – in return for his services.

Swan even spoke to comedian JERRY LEWIS, who she claims told her that Sinatra once carried Mafia money for his mob boss pals. But it took the words of a dying man to help the biographers cement their claims, and they’ve added his testimony in the newly-released paperback version of their book.

Summers explains, “To the Mafia, he (Sinatra) was an earner – they saw him as a potential earner and they helped him in special ways. “Since the book came out I talked to a former journalist who remembered talking to one of the first mobsters to give Sinatra a hand, WILLIE MORETTI. “He told our new contact, ‘We made a good deal, we took good care of him.’ That matches the things we’ve learned already and we put it in the new edition (of the book).”

27/07/2006 20:02 http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/sinatra%20biographers…….mafia%20ties_1003759

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ROME, May 8, 2006 (AFP) – A photo exhibition in Rome has shocked visitors with its brutal records of Mafia killings, blowing away the romanticised and sanitised image of Cosa Nostra.

The pictures were taken in the Sicilian capital Palermo from the start of the 1980s by a team of photographers working for the photo department of a local daily newspaper.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/11885
Copyright Political Gateway 2006 © Copyright AFP, 2005 / 2006

[newline]

Visitor viewing mafia-related photographs at an exhibit in Rome
©AFP/File – Giulio Napolitano

Letizia Battaglia
violenza mafiosa

Letizia Battaglia
Il giudice Cesare Terranova, comunista, membro della Commissione Parlamentare Antimafia, ucciso davanti casa, Palermo 1979

Franco Zecchin
La moglie e le figlie di Benedetto Grado sul luogo dell’omicidio, Palermo, 1983

THE ALLEGED boss of central Slovakia’s underworld, Mikuláš ?ernák, has been charged with yet another murder. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

?ernák is currently serving 8.5 years in Ilava jail for extortion and tax fraud. He is due to be released in October this year, but if convicted of this and other murders he is suspected of having carried out or plotted, he might end up in jail for life, the Pravda daily wrote.

Police say that in February 1997, ?ernák and three other people murdered Pavol Lenárt, who was also an underworld figure.

Police Vice-President Jaroslav Spišiak said on April 5 that investigators had discovered that Lenárt was lured from Prievidza to Banská Bystrica, where he was shot twice in the head in the office of ?ernák’s Security 3 company.

According to Spišiak, Lenárt was probably murdered because “he did not fit into the structures of the underworld”. The exact motives for the murder are under investigation.

Apart from Lenárt, ?ernák is also under investigation for his involvement in the death of Imrich Oláh, who has been implicated in the assination of police informant Róbert Remiáš, as well as the slaying of alleged mafia members Milan Šipoš, Emil Peter Kleš?o, Emil Potan?o and Marián Karcel.

[ 2006-04-10] http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2006014&cl=23029

[thumb:867:l] Angelo A. “Big Ange” Lonardo, the Cleveland mob boss who became a turncoat and helped bring down a generation of Mafia bosses across the country, died Friday. He was 95.

For years, Lonardo ran one of the country’s toughest Mafia strongholds in Northeast Ohio. The Mafia here doled out violence in bitter turf wars over gambling and drugs, making millions of dollars. His success as a mob boss is eclipsed only by his work as a snitch, becoming the nation’s highest-ranking crime boss to testify against his fellow mob leaders.

“Angelo Lonardo was such a significant character, not only in Cleveland but nationally,” said author Rick Porrello, who chronicled Lonardo’s life in the book “The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia.”

Gerald Personen, a former FBI agent, knew Lonardo well, spending years with him as Personen pre pared the mobster to testify.

“He was a real gentleman,” Personen said Friday night. “He was a very easy guy to deal with. He was so polished, and he lived up to his end of the bargain.”

In 1983, U.S. District Judge John M. Manos sentenced Lonardo, Tommy Sinito, Joseph Gallo, Hartmut Graewe and Kevin McTaggart to life in prison, plus 103 years, for running a large-scale cocaine ring in Cleveland.

In order to protect the ring, authorities said, the group killed off its rivals.

Within months of the sentence, Lonardo began working with the government. He met with Personen and other FBI agents and decided to testify against longtime Mafia members.

“When you get the boss of a crime family to come in and testify, your entire case changes,” said Dean Winslow, another former FBI agent who worked the organized crime cases. “It gave the cases so much more credibility.”

Over the course of years, Lonardo told authorities about dozens of Mafia members from Kansas City, Milwaukee and Chicago. He also testified in civil proceedings involving the Teamsters union.

“The information Lonardo had was at the highest level,” wrote Joseph Griffin, the former leader of the FBI, in his book, “Mob Nemesis.” In fact, Griffin wrote, Lonardo gave up information about his own cousins.

Soon after he worked for the government, the Mafia weakened, and more turncoats came forward to avoid long prison sentences.

The omerta, the Sicilian Mafia’s code of silence, was dead.

Lonardo went into the federal witness protection program but left it to return to Cleveland.

“I think he just wanted to move back to his hometown and be around family at the end of his life,” said James Neff, who wrote the book “Mobbed Up,” a book about union boss Jackie Presser and the Cleveland Mafia.

“It’s remarkable he lived this long,” Neff said. “He was a smoker. He spent a lot of time in taverns. He admitted that he had killed people.”

Saturday, April 01, 2006 John Caniglia and Joe Guillen © 2006 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved. http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1143884045209190.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

[thumb:1083:l] In the history of America’s Mafia, no name looms larger than that of the late Joseph Bonanno Sr. He became the youngest don in a world of tradition. He endured nearly a century while peers succumbed to bullets and prison. He was among the most powerful, yet mysterious, figures in a secret society.

Mysterious and powerful, Bonanno retreated to Tucson, but violence followed

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In this July 13, 1984 file photo, Joseph Bonanno walks through Tucson International Airport flanked by daughter-in-law Rosalie Bonanno (left), grandson Joseph Gregory (second from right), and son Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno (far right). Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star

Dennis Wagner and Charles Kelly, The Arizona Republic, Mar. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno sits in a backyard tree at his father’s Tucson home, a shotgun cradled in his arm, watching for assassins.

The family’s German shepherd, Rebel, paces the patio, toenails clicking on flagstone.

The digs are hardly ostentatious for a family of such repute; just a modest stucco dwelling on a quiet residential street.

Inside, the old man, Joe Sr., recovering from his third heart attack, watches TV in the living room with a friend. Bill’s mom, Fay, is in bed, sick.

Security, already tightened in recent weeks, is now locked down like one of bodyguard Pete Notaro’s lumpy fists.

This is the so-called life of America’s infamous crime family on July 22, 1968.

The Bonannos have retreated from a Mafia war in New York to their residential sanctuary at 1847 E. Elm St. But violence follows like an unwanted shadow.

A few weeks back, someone hurled a rock through the front window.

Death threats arrived by mail and phone. And, one night earlier, dynamite tore apart a shed outside the home of longtime friend Peter “Horseface” Licavoli Sr., a retired godfather from Detroit.

Arizona just isn’t safe anymore.

Which is why Bill Bonanno, in dark pants and a black polo shirt, stands guard and wonders what the hell will come next.
•

In the history of America’s Mafia, no name looms larger than that of the late Joseph Bonanno Sr. He became the youngest don in a world of tradition. He endured nearly a century while peers succumbed to bullets and prison. He was among the most powerful, yet mysterious, figures in a secret society.

Over the past half-century, the drama and intrigue have spilled into books, movies and news articles. Pieces of his life are littered in more than 1,700 pages of FBI intelligence obtained for this story, along with a box of confidential files from Arizona strike forces. His autobiography is part of the record, along with books written by family members. Bonanno is even considered by many to be the figure upon whom Mario Puzo based his lead character, Vito Corleone, in The Godfather series of books and films.

Yet his image, tangled with fictional mobsters like Tony Soprano, remains cloudy, if not contradictory: He is portrayed as a lawless hood, yet a man of principles; an uncommon crook, yet a venerable philosopher.

Although Bonanno’s crime family was based in New York, his home for most of the last 50 years of his life was in Arizona. They say he retired here, but the history is clear that “Mr. B” oversaw an underworld empire from the Old Pueblo.

Crime came with him, and so did violence.
•

[thumb:1017:l] In size, wealth and influence, today’s Cosa Nostra doesn’t match the Mafia of days gone by, Mob historians Jerry Capeci and Selwyn Raab say. However, there’s one area in which modern Mafiosi are upholding a proud tradition of organized crime tradition nicknames.

Here are a few recent examples of Mafia nicknames and the inspiration for them, according to Mob historians and federal court records:

“Mikey Y.” — for Michael Yannotti, a convicted associate of the Gambino family. Easier than saying his last name.

“Mikey Scars” — for Michael DiLeonardo, an acknowledged Gambino family member and government witness. From scars he received in a childhood accident.

“Vinny Gorgeous” — for Vincent Basciano, an acknowledged Bonanno family member. He owned a hair salon in the Bronx, N.Y.

“Richie from the Bronx” — for Richard Martino, a convicted Gambino family member. Apparently used to distinguish him from the many other Richies involved with the Mob.

“Good Lookin’ Sal” — for Salvatore Vitale, an acknowledged Bonanno family member and government witness. Court records indicate he came up with the name himself and urged underlings to use it.

“Louie Bagels” — for Louis Daidone, a convicted member of the Lucchese family. He owned a bagel shop in Queens, N.Y.

“Gaspipe” — for Anthony Casso, an acknowledged Lucchese member and government witness. Referred to his tool of choice for his work as a Mob enforcer.

“Tony Ducks” — for Anthony Corallo, convicted member of the Lucchese family. He was known for his ability to duck subpoena servers.

“Phil Lucky” — for Philip Giaccone, a convicted Gambino family member. The name was unintentionally ironic; he was assassinated by a rival.

“Kid Blast” — for Albert Gallo, a convicted member of the Gambino family. He was known for enjoying parties.

“Nicky Eye Glasses” — for Nicholas Marangello, a convicted member of the Bonanno family. His glasses were very thick.

“Jackie Nose” — for John D’Amico, a convicted Gambino family member. Self-explanatory.

Vincent “The Chin” Gigante is seen in this 1997 photo.
AP file photo

“The Chin” — for Vincent Gigante, a convicted member of the Genovese family. From “Cinzini,” the nickname his mother gave him.

“Patty the Pig” — for Patrick DeFilippo, accused in a federal indictment of being a member of the Bonanno family. This was the pre-diet nickname for a Bronx man who used to weigh roughly 300 pounds.

“Patty from the Bronx” — DeFilippo’s post-diet nickname.

Sources: Mob historians Jerry Capeci of Ganglandnews.com and Selwyn Raab, author of Five Families; defense lawyer Richard Levitt; federal court papers

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-09-mafia-nicknames_x.htm

[thumb:1001:l] A notorious Mafia hitman known as “The Iceman” who claimed to have killed more than 100 people and was the subject of several books and two cable television documentaries has died, said a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

Richard Kuklinski, 70, died about 1 a.m. Sunday at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said Monday.

Fedkenheuer did not disclose the cause of death, but said it was not suspicious.

Kuklinksi was serving life prison sentences at New Jersey State Prison for two murders.

Kuklinski claimed to have been a killer-for-hire for the mob.

Just five years ago, he confessed to two murders on an HBO special, “The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hit Man.”

In one of those cases, the 1980 killing of New York City police detective Peter Calabro, he implicated another well-known mob hit man, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. Gravano was charged in 2003 with murdering Detective Peter Calabro in Saddle River after Kuklinski told authorities that he shot Calabro on orders from Gravano.

Kuklinski, who preferred to kill by using a cyanide solution administered from a nasal spray bottle, earned the nickname “The Iceman” because he kept some victims’ bodies in a North Bergen freezer.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) March 6, 2006, 5:26 PM EST, Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

US Mafia hitman Kuklinski dies

Richard Kuklinski, a notorious Mafia hitman known as The Iceman has died at the age of 70.

He was claimed to have killed more than 100 people and was the subject of several books and two cable television documentaries.

He died on Sunday at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, said spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer.

She did not disclose the cause of death, but said it was not suspicious.

Kuklinski was serving life prison sentences at New Jersey State Prison for two murders.

He claimed to have been a killer-for-hire for the mob.

Just five years ago, he confessed to two murders on an HBO special, The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hit Man.

Kuklinski earned the nickname The Iceman because he kept some victims’ bodies in a North Bergen freezer.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 08-Mar-06 07:29 GMT